Ice making machine



2 Sheefs-Sheet l W. H. TAYLOR ICE MAKING MACHINE Filed Jan. 1'7, 1935 Wm" y May 18, 1937.

Z0 INVENTOR.

M,W7fzma ATTORNEY.

May 18, 1937. w. H. TAYLOR 2,080,639

ICE MAKING MACHINE Filed Jan. 17, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

'Ico

Patented May 18, 1937 rca Mama MACHINE William B. Taylor, Muskego, Wis., assign'or, by

assignments, to Reconstruction Finance Corporation, Chicago, lll., a corporation Application January 1"l,v 1935, Serial No. 2,239

l2 Ultim!- (Cl. 82-10-5) construction yof automatic ice making The present invention relates in general to improvements in the art of manufacturing ice,

and relates more specifically to improvements in' the construction and operationv of machines for making so-called slush or snow ice.

Generally defined, an object of the invention is to provide an improved icemaking machine which is simple and compact in construction,

and which is also highly eilicientin operation.

.harden liquid by permitting the'same to flow along the internal surface of a cylinder surrounded by a cooling jacket. and to remove the cooled or frozen liquid from the cooling surface with the aid of a revolvingv scraper, the cylinder being vertically disposed and having an open lower end so that the final product could'be delivered therefrom by gravity. In these Vprior liquid congealing machines. it was necessary .20 to make the cylinder yof considerable length in order to secure commercial capacity;v and by virtue of the fact that the scraper rcoactedwith the cooling surface throughout the entire length of the latter, excessive power was required in g5 order to move the scraper therealong. The prior machines would also tend to stall due to 4undesirable accumulations of ice therein and were,

moreover, relatively ineffective due to inefiicient application of the liquid and refrigerant to the cooling zone; and these deficiencies.- combined with other complications in structure, have made the prior freezers of this type relatively impractical.

It is therefore an object of the present inf vention to provide an improved liquid congealing machine of the above-described general type, which overcomes all of the defects mentioned, and which is thoroughly practical in actual use.

Another specific object of the invention is vto provide an improved rotor structure for rapidly and effectively removing successive films of. ice from a freezing surface. y

A further specic object ofthe Y provide an improved liquid congealing or freezing, chamber whereby a maximum quantity of liquid may be converted into ice with the aid of a minimum quantity of refrigerant.

Still another specific object of the invention It has heretofore been proposed to cool andl invention is to is to provide improved structure forvpreventingundesirable accumulation. of ice within a liquid cooling and hardening assemblage, thereby making it possible to maintain such systems'or ma.

chines in continuous operation.

An additional specific object of the. invention tems for pre-cooling the liquid and forf.more

effectively delivering the same to the freezing" surface.

1 Another specific object of the invention' neef.'

, is to provide improved liquid 'distributing'systhe lineI 2 2;

whereby the costsof construction and operation thereof are reduced toa minimum. while the efficiency is enhanced to a maximum.

These andother' obiects'and advantages will. lbe apparent from the following detailed description.

'A clear conception of an embodiment o f the invention and of the mode of constructing and .ofuutilizing icemaking machines and systems Vbuilt in accordance with the improvement may be had by referring to the drawings accompany; ing and forming apart of 'this specification, in

which like reference characters designate the` l5 same or similar parts in the various views. l

Fig. 1 vis a central .vertical section through one of the improved ice making. machines fully as sembled;

Fig. 2 is a transverse horizontal section through the ice making machine of Fig. 1, taken along 3 is a diagram of-av systemiii -which the improved icemaking machine may be used to b advantage:

Fig. 4' is a bottom view of the lower ice discharge and liquid pre-cooling ring of the machine; ,i i

Fig. 5 is a full 4top view rotor; and l.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation .ofthe rotor of Fig. 5.

While the invention has beenl shown and described herein as being applied to a relatively small unit andsystem for converting water into slush or snow ice, it is not intended to unnecessarily restrict the scope by such specific embodiment since some of the novel features may obviously be applied to other vof machines used for other cooling purposes.

Referring to the drawings.' the improved ice making system shown djagrammatically in Fig. 3

comprises in general the ice making unit 8; an

ice receiving screen 9 disposed beneath the open of thescraper-carryin lowerend of the unit `8 and from which thedeposited slush or snow ice may be constantly removed by a suitable conveyor; a water-receptacle i0 disposed beneath the screen 9 for catching the excess liquid removed from the icefbyI the screen; a fresh water supply pipe il leading lI5 for the 'unitf having a suction pipe I6' come.

municating with the receptacle l0 in line with vtl'ie'clischarge end of the ypipe IlA and also having .j 'nqliddeliverypipe i6 commimicating with the- The Aimproved ice' making unit 8 shown assembled in Figs. 1 and 2 consists primarily.` of an evaporator coil preferably comprising a circular casing I1 formed of a single, helically-I wound length' ofl square-sectionedtubing havlng a substantially cylindrical, inner ice-forming surface I2; a rotor I2 mounted upon, a-central vertical shaft 22 within the casing I1 and having three radial arms 2I carrying relatively staggered scrapers 22 which are cooperable ,with the surface I2; and an electric motor 22 driv ingly connected to the upper endjof the shaftV y22 for propelling the rotor I2. s v, The tubular casing I1 maybe formed of suitable metal, such as aluminum, and hasja lower 4 liquid refrigerant inlet 22 and an upper gas outlet 22 associated with the opposite ends thereof, and this casing I1 vmay be surrounded by an insulating outer casing 22 formed of concentric shells separated by an intervening layer of insulation' 21. ,The lower ice dischargeand liquid pre-cooling ring 22 Iwith which the water pipes II, I2 communicate as shown in Figs. 1

and 4, is secured to the lower end of the casing 22 beyond the bottom of the casing I1; and a lower spider 22 is secured to and forms a closure for the passage 22 within the ring 22 and also supports aylower anti-friction bearing 2| within which the lower end of the rotor-supporting shaft 22 is-Journaled. The upper end of the outer casing 22 supports an upper spider 22, the` tegral central liquid receptacle 22 of relatively large capacity from which vthe arms 2I radiate (see Figs. 1, 2, 5, and 6). The lower portion of the rotor I2 is also provided with an integral cap 22 for protecting the lower bearing 2I, and the liquid delivery pipe I2 of the pump I2 communicates with a passage 21 in the central portion of the upper spider 22 so `that the pre-cooled fresh water will be deposited directly into the upper end of the receptacle 22 at'all times. 'I'he lower extremity of the receptacle 22 may be provided with adraln plug 22, and a series of liquidk distributing pipes 22 having discharge openings 22 as shown in -Fig. 6, directed toward the freezing surface I2, are carried by the rotor I2 and communicate with the upper portion of the receptacle 22. It will be noted that one of the distributing pipes 22 is located closely adjacent to the outer rear extremity of each of the arms 2I of the rotor I2, and that the depending perforated portions of these pipes extend parallel to and throughout the entire length of the freezing surface I2 and have sealed lower ends. As shown, there are two scrapers 22 detachably secured to each arm 2I -by means of capscrews 2l; and as previously stated, the scrapers 22 are staggered, as clearly shown in Fig.Y 6, so as to cover the entire freezing surface I2 during each complete revolution of the rotor I2. The

attaching screws 2|v preferably permit slightl counter-shaft 22 by means of worm gearing cona,oso,eso

shaft 22 is drivingly connected to the upper end of the rotor-supporting shaft 22 by a exible coupling 22 which is edectively protected by the 22 and spider I22 as shown in Iig. l. It 'will be noted that by disconnecting the'water -supply pipe I2 and the fastening between the 'spider 22 Vand the outer casing 22, the entire rotor structure may be freely removed as a unit yfrom within thecasing I1; and' by disconnecting the fastening between the casing A22 and the upc per spider 22, the driving motor 22 and countershaft may be removed without disturbing the rotor Ilandotherpartsoftheunit. f

. During normal operation of the improved ice making machine, the inlet valve I2 is open to admit fresh liquid through `the pipe II to the passage 22 and from the passage 22 throughthe surface.l 'I'his ice is delivered, in the form of.

snow or slush mixed with a slight excess of water, bygravity, directly upon the screen 2; and

the Aexcess water is quickly drained therefrom into the receptacle I2. The pump I2 is operating and withdrawing liquid from the receptacle I2 through the suction connection l2' and is delivering this liquid in pre-cooled condition through the pipe I2 andl passage 21 into the receptacle 22 of the rotor I2. The pre-cooling of -the liquid thus admitted is eifected both during the iiow of the fresh liquid -through the passage 22 and due to the contact of the drainage liquid delivered to the receptacle I2 through the screen 2, with the ice particles; and the fresh liquid delivered from the pipe I2 intothe lower end of the pump suction pipe I2' prevents ice particles from accumulating at the lower end of the pipe I 2' and thereby interrupting the supply ofliquid to the pump. liquid from within the rotor -receptacle `22 is delivered by centrifugal force and hydrostatic head, into distributing pipes 22 Aand is being constantly delivered through the openings 22 in these pipes, to the cylindrical freezing surface I2 where fresh nlms of ice are formed as rapidly as the scrapers 22 remove the iilm therefrom. In this manner, successive iilms of ice are removed from the surface I2 and are deposited in the form of snow ice upon the screen 2 from whence the dry snow may be removed with asuitable conveyor in an obvious manner.

During such normal operation of the machine, the refrigerant which is admitted to the casing I1 through the inlet 22,' in liquid form, isconverted into gas as the cooling action takes place;

and the resultant gaseous refrigerant is ultimately delivered from thev outlet 22. The insulating jacket provided by the outer 'casing 22 and insulation 21 prevents undesirable heating of the casing I1 from the exterior of the unit, andl the helical formation of the passage within the casing I1 will insure most effective absorption of the heat from` the water delivered upon the surface I2. The staggered formation or disposition of the scrapers 22 permits a mutable illm to congeal upon the freezing surface I2 during each revolution of each of the individual scrapers, while still enabling the use of a multiplicity of scrapers to thereby increase the capacity of the vmachine to a maximum. The relatively large body of liquid within the receptacle 22 prevents the rotor arms 2l from becoming excessively cooled, and there-` 72 by prevents accumulation of ice upon the rotor,

in spite of the fact that the liquid within the receptacle 35 has been pre-cooled. 'I'he liquid flowing through the passage 30 likewise retains the lower portion of the machine at such temperatures that the ice will not accumulate thereon, thus insuring proper functioning of the unit without hindrance by ice accumulations.

, The bearings 3|, 32 are effectively protected against entry of foreign matter, and the entire machine may be readily dismantled by merely releasing the spiders 29, 32 and subsequently removing the remaining structural elements. The machine may be just as readily assembled, and when it has been properly assembled, provides an extremely compact unit having relatively large capacity considering the space occupied thereby. The improved machine has proved highly successful in actual use and may be manufactured and operated at relatively low cost.

It should be understood that it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact details of construction and to the precise mode of operation hereinl shown and described, for various modifications within the scope of the claims may occur to persons skilled in the art.

It is claimed and desired to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In combination, a casing comprising a single helical tube of polygonal cross-section successive sections of which coact to provide a continuous circular freezing surface, means for introducing refrigerant into said casing to cool said surface, means for delivering liquid to said surface, and

surface.

2. In combination, a casing comprising a single helical tube of rectangular cross-section successive sections of which coact to provide a continuous cylindrical inner freezing surface, means for introducing refrigerant into said casing to cool said surface, means for delivering liquid to said surface, and a movable scraper for removing congealed liquid from said surface.

3. In combination, a casing comprising a continuous helical tube successive sections of which coact to provide a continuous circular Vfreezing surface having straight line generatrlces about a vertical axis, means for admitting refrigerant to the interior of said casing, means for delivering liquid to said surface, and a rotor revolvable about said axis to remove congealed liquid fromY said surface.

4. In combination, a casing having an annular cooling surface generated about a vertical axis, a rotor having cutters cooperable with said surface to remove ice therefrom, a hollow heat transfer member having an annular internal passage inclosed by an annular wall disposed near the low- 80 er end of said surface, and means for delivering I liquid to said surface through said passage.

5. In combination, a vertical annular casing having a refrigerant chamber therein and having an internal cooling surface, means forming an annular heat transfer passage near the lower end of said surface, a rotor revolvable within said casing and having ice removing elements movable along said surface, and means for conducting liquid through said passage and for subse- 0 quently delivering said liquid in precooled condition to said surface.

a scraper for removing congealed liquid from saidL 6. In combination, a casing having an annular internal freezing surface and an open lower end, a spider disposed adjacent said lower casing end, a shaft disposed centrally within said casing and having a bearingl disposed within a recess in said spider, a rotor carried by said shaft and having an integral protecting cap covering said recess and projecting downwardly to completely conceal said bearing, and ice removing means carried by said rotor and cooperating with said surface.

'7. In combination, an'evaporator coil comprising a continuous helical tube having a flat side providing'a continuous annular internal surface having a vertical axis, means for delivering liquid t'o said surface, and a scraper for removing congealed liquid from said surface.

8. In combination, an evaporator coil comprising a single helical tube havinga flat side providing a continuous annular internal surface having a vertical axis, means for admitting refrigerant to the lower portion of said coil, means for delivering liquid to said surface, and a scraper for removing congealed liquid from said surface.

9. In combination, a casing having an annular vertical internal freezing surface and an open lower end, a rotor revolvable within said casing and having a central upwardly open liquid receptacle and a series of solid fin-like heat conducting arms radiating from said receptacle, said receptacle having a relatively deep liquid receiving space therein and said arms extending inwardly in close proximity to said space throughout the entire height thereof, ice removers carried by the outer ends of said arms and cooperating with said surface, and liquid conducting pipes extending outwardly from the upper portion only of said receptacle and downwardly along said surface rearwardly of said arms.

10. In combination, an annular casing having an internal freezing surface and an open lower end,l a rotor revolvable within said casing, said rotor comprising a central deep liquid receptacle and solid fin-like arms of considerable vertical width radiating from said receptacle, scrapers carried by the outer ends of said arms and cooperating with said surface, and liquid conducting pipes extending laterally from said receptacle and downwardly along said surface rearwardly of said arms.

11. In combination, a casing having an internal annular freezing surface free from irregularities throughout its length, a rotor having arms extending toward said surface, and a scraper carried by each of said arms and coacting with said surface, each scraper having a path of action overlapping the path of coaction of another of said Scrapers with said surface.

12. In combination, a casing having an internal cylindrical freezing surface generated about an upright axis and free from irregularities throughout its length, a rotor having arms extending toward said surface. and vertically spaced scrapers carried by each of said arms and coacting with said surface, said scraper having a path of action overlapping the path of coaction of another of said scrapers with said surface.

WILLIAM H. TAYLOR. 

